Immutable, the Australian startup behind Immutable X, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution designed for games and NFTs, announced yesterday that it has raised a Series C funding round at a valuation of $2.5 billion. Immutable X works on top of the Ethereum blockchain making transactions cheaper and faster than those on Ethereum’s own mainnet. The firm solution caters NFT Gaming sector that rely on Ethereum. Immutable now joins Animoca and an ever-expanding list of crypto startups worth at least $1 billion.

Immutable partners with gaming companies to develop NFT gaming platforms. The company also develops and publishes its own NFT games like competitive card game Gods Unchained. The firm is also developing an upcoming mobile action game, Guild of Guardians.

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The recent round saw $200 million funding led by investment firm Temasek, with participation from Chinese gaming giant Tencent and leading metaverse investment firm Animoca Brands. New investors include Arrington Capital, Mirae Asset, and Liberty Global, while Alameda Research and Possible Ventures are among the firms that increased their total investment.

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Video game retailer GameStop recently announced a partnership with Immutable to power the gaming-centric NFT marketplace which is due to launch later this year, and will focus on user-ownable NFT items—such as characters, weapons, and apparel—designed for Ethereum-driven video games.

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GameStop and Immutable recently announced a $100 million developer fund last month as part of the deal, in an effort to incentivize crypto game creators to build upon Immutable X and the retailer’s marketplace. Short-video social video app TikTok also built on Immutable X for its creator-focused NFTs last year,